Massif - Garth Nix

Better known as a fantasy writer, Garth Nix's first science fiction novel initially feels a little tentative in its approach to what appears to be the space opera field. Rather than take the time to build up to how the people of Earth find a means to travel in space and explore other planets, the author explains it all in the brief prologue before seeming to settle down into rather more mundane aspects of military life aboard one of these spaceships that gets caught up in a skirmish with an enemy fleet. For quite a while you have no idea where it's going, but there is a larger scheme building in the background around the mystery of the Massifs.

The origins of the Massif are laid out in that prologue, so I'm going to do the same. The first Massif appeared on Earth in 2097, arising into orbit out of the Marojejy massif in Madagascar, leading to the discovery of other space travelling Massifs, each with an enigmatic avatar entity. Normal technology won't work there, nor can nuclear weapons be held there, but for some reason old style valve technology works. The Massif's gift humanity with Basics, spaceships for interstellar travel to other habitable worlds. Unfortunately, being human, it soon becomes a new place for conflict and wars. Two major solar system powers arise: the United Earth Government (UEG) and Mars and Beyond Prosperity Sphere (MBPS), commonly known as Marsies, inevitably leading to conflict between them.

The crew of the United Earth Government Navy ship Sassafras under the control of Parnell Shi-Sawahla are on their way to a new battle in a long-running war. They have been largely successful in previous expeditions over their sixteen months tour of duty, but as they approach a planet with what looks like an unusual solar array, concerns start to arise. One of the key members of the crew, Kaz, has already been showing signs of strange behaviour that could be signs of Massif psychosis - one of the dangers of flying these ships - and it doesn't help that the fleet are under the command of the reckless task force leader Gnasher on the flagship Changua. The excursion doesn't end well for the crew of the Sassafras.

The initial impression is that there isn't a whole lot of consistency or rationale to the Massif worldview. The situation on Earth under a united government (with some exceptions) is sketched in, but everyone has their basic needs taken care of in this future world. Those who want to improve their position send children to fight in the war which has been on/off for fifty years now, and the latest outbreak of hostilities has lasted eighteen years now. Cloned gene insertions have creating 'families' with differing skills and abilities, with M-field sensitivity - the ability to extend your range of awareness beyond the ship - are needed to pilot a Basic. There seems to be little purpose to the wars other than human greed, but then that's often true, the navy crew themselves having no real ideological beliefs or differences, doing it for the money and prestige.

Having established this background, it's time for take off and prepare for battle. Massif gets off the ground, but it hardly takes flight, metaphorically speaking. Like Parnell after the battle, it seems to wander around looking for a purpose, but that reflects the experience of Parnell, who is indeed somewhat shell shocked by his battle experience. Having come down on the Massif DrummerBoy, he wants to go out looking for Kaz who has been lost in the firefight, but he is unable to shake the command into action and is distracted by pointless military orders. There is almost something Kafkaesque about the situation of dealing with meaningless officialdom, with his efforts to make contact with the avatar of the Massif DrummerBoy, and with Tentacles Horrors all adding to the air of surreality.

In that respect, and for a few other vague reasons, it also feels to me like I could be reading a Philip K. Dick book. There is a study here of a indecisive character, romantically failed and feeling inadequacy when faced with a challenging situation, struggling to find a deeper purpose. There isn't a great deal of character development aside from that, and there's not enough action or drama for the book to be a thrilling SF adventure. It does propose some ideas on technology and militarisation when it comes to space expansion, but little adds up to much.

The danger here is that there may not be enough to keep you reading to the end, which would be a pity, as Massif is worth persevering with. Despite not being all that interesting for long stretches, ironically I think the story might have been better as a proper space opera series, with more time given over to developing the characters, the world and the battles and skirmishes that take place, gradually teasing out the central issue of the origin of the Massifs. The ending here - where the novel finally explodes into action and revelations are made - would certainly be good enough to sustain a longer work, but even as is it, it's still very much worth the journey.

Reading notes: Massif by Garth Nix is published by Orion/Gollancz in hardcover and as an eBook on the 17th September 2026. I read a preview copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.